Astove Coral House

Aqua Cat is a 102-foot luxury catamaran cruising out of Nassau to the best dive spots in the Bahamas – the Land and Sea Park of the Exumas, Eleuthera and the Lost Blue Hole. There are eleven cabins, all with individually controlled air-conditioning, private bathrooms, mini refrigerators, hair dryers and plenty of space. Four of the cabins have two twins, and additional pull-down berths above. Four cabins feature a king-size bed that can be configured to two twins. Two cabins have one queen-size bed and one twin. The last cabin, equipped with two twins, is the only one without a window but has a skylight.

The roomy lounge and dining area has a television with a DVD player, video editing area, and a photo light table. The alfresco deck just outside the dining room features a hammock, tables and a barbecue area. The sundeck has  sun loungers, a bar with beer taps and a soft drink fountain. Your cruise price includes local microbrews, local rum, vodka, wine and soft drinks. The spacious dive deck has a photo station, storage and a charging area. Entering the water is easy with two dive ladders, and you’ll enjoy the two fresh water showers after the dive. Aqua Cat offers Nitrox and a full range of dive courses. As a bonus, the Exuma offers a unique variety of eco-adventures.  Guests enjoy trips to beaches for shelling and walking.  Visit the iguanas, beautiful Shroud Cay, Thunderball Grotto and many more hidden gems while passing the time of your surface intervals! 

Experience a variety of scuba diving like no other place in the Caribbean. The variety of dive sites in the Exuma Cays is truly unique and offer opportunities not available elsewhere and they can on be reached on a dive liveaboard. Scuba divers can enjoy up to 26 dives per week and will leave with a log book full of new memories and wonderful sightings. Many of the dive sites are in the Exumas Land & Sea Park which is protected so the marine life is both large and plentiful. This is truly the best of the Bahamas.

Exuma Cays Dive Sites
Lost Blue Hole  – The rim of this large blue hole lies in 40′ of water surrounded by coral heads, sting rays and many schools of fish. There is a lobster filled crevice at 80′. In the sand surrounding the hole, divers will find many small fish such as banded jawfish, Seminole gobies and tobacco fish. There are usually 1 or 2 nurse sharks here and during the late spring/early summer a large school of blacknose sharks inhabits the bottom of the 200′ hole. This site is normally visited on the way to or from the Exumas. This is the location of the Caribbean’s first lionfish sighting. Photo is the courtesy of Eduardo Arribada.
Periwinkle Reef – This is a shallow patch reef that is teaming with fish. The local Nassau operators feed fish here, so sergeant majors and angelfish will approach scuba divers looking for a handout.
Amberjack Reef – A 50′ patch reef that has prolific fish life. You will see reef sharks and up to 10 large grouper. This dive also has many interesting small critters such as pirate blennies and garden eels. Back on the hang bar scuba divers will be surrounded by a school of 100+ horse-eye jack that hang out underneath the Aqua Cat.
Austin Smith Wreck – A 90′ Bahamian Defense Force Cutter that sank in 1995 while being towed to San Salvador to be sunk there as a dive site. Their misfortune was our gain. This intact wreck lies in 60′ of water.
Cathedral – This site is part of the Dog Rocks Reef. This reef starts at 35′ and slopes off to 50′ before dropping straight down into the Exuma Sound. The Cathedral is a large swim-thru where the light filters down from above reflecting off the thousands of silversides that occupy the swim-thru. This swim thru has many grouper and jacks that come to feed on the silversides. This is one of the crews’ favorite dives. If you like to identify fish, you will marvel at the large variety of fish. The wall has large stands of black coral and orange elephant ear and tube sponges. Pelagic, eagle rays and sharks are frequently seen off the wall.
Jeep Reef – This is one of the prettiest reefs you will ever see. The strong current that sweeps through this cut keeps the reef’s corals very healthy. This dive can only be done at slack tide because of the strong currents. It is in the middle of the Exumas Land & Sea Park, so you will find a very healthy population of fish. This dive site gets its name from a coral encrusted jeep that sits near the mooring.
Pillar Wall – One of many excellent wall dives. It starts at 30′ and slopes to 50′ before dropping 5,000′ to the bottom. There are many caves and crevices. There is a large colony of yellow-head jawfish in the rubble inside the reef.

The Washing Machine – The strong incoming tide of up to 6 mph takes scuba divers thru a narrow cut where water drops off a ledge and then makes a sharp bend to the left. This causes the water to swirl like the water in a washing machine. This swirling water will toss scuba divers head over heels. Scuba divers who wish to avoid being tossed around can stay to the right where you will have a smooth fast trip through the cut. After passing through the cut you will then glide over a large patch reef. Enjoy the ride! Watch a video of the amazing Aqua Cat’s Washing Machine Dive!
Whale Tail Wall – A great wall just south of Wax Cut. Large parrotfish roam the sand inside the reef while sharks & eagle rays are frequently seen off the wall. We have had some very unusual sightings here like a Caribbean torpedo, one of only 4 sighting of this very rare ray.

Southwest Eleuthera Dive Sites
Hole in the Wall – The walls in Southwest Eleuthera are some of the most abrupt & beautiful anywhere, literally going straight down. At this site there is a hole just inside the edge of the wall that drops 15′ with a swim-thru that heads west before popping out of the wall.

Jake’s Hole – This tidal blue hole lies in 20′ of water. The highlight of this dive is the vibrant corals surrounding the hole. Because it is very tidal, scuba divers aren’t permitted to enter the hole.
Monolith – Large mounds of coral rise out of the sand at the edge of the wall. They start at 100′ and rise to 55′. There is a colony of Garden Eels in the sand next to the mounds.

The 102 ft scuba diving liveaboard catamaran offers luxury accommodations, a spacious main salon and an extremely smooth ride. Her ability to cruise at a speed of 14-knots will get you to dive sites quickly while her 35-ft beam will ensure a smooth ride. The eleven passenger cabins are some of the largest of any liveaboard in the world. Some of the cabins can accommodate a 3rd or 4th passenger, so she can carry from 22 to 30 passengers.

Liveaboard Cabins

• Private bathroom with shower.
• Hair dryer.
• Oversized berths (80″ long)
• Individually controlled air-conditioners.
• Carpeted floors.

Cabins 1 &2 – 109 square feet of cabin space.  Two twin beds with two pull downs to accommodate up to 4 guests. 

Cabins 3 & 4 – 109 square feet of cabin space.  Two twin beds with one pull down to accommodate up to 3 guests. This is great for a family or friends that would like to reduce their costs.

Cabins 5-8—109 square feet of cabin space.  These can be configured as either two twins or one king.

Cabins 9 & 10 – 135 square feet of cabin space.  These have one queen and one twin and can accommodate up to 3 guests. 

Cabin 11 – 63 square feet of cabin space.  This cabin has twin bunk beds. This cabin has a skylight instead of windows.

Port and starboard oceanview cabins have two large windows with shades. Cabin 11 has a skylight with a shade. 

​Dining/Salon Area

• Two large tables with seating for 24 in cane style cushioned chairs
• Beverage area dispenses soft drinks and beer on tap and ice maker
• 7 three seat cane sofa lounges
• A television and DVD player
• Coffee and tea station.
• Snack counter
• Fresh fruit basket
• Library of videos and books
• The ship’s boutique

Alfresco Deck

• Three outdoor tables with seating for 12
• BBQ grill and griddle
• Hammocks

Dive Deck

• Photo station with large work area and three shelves for camera storage. 110v & 220v outlets for battery charging
• Two enclosed showers
• One toilet with sink
• Two dive ladders
• Rinse hoses with hot & cold water by each dive ladder
• Two fresh water rinse tanks

Sun Deck

• 10 sun loungers
• Bar area with soft drink and beer taps, two ice makers and bar stools. We have three different beers from a Bahamian micro brewery on tap. The crew also mixes up frozen rum drinks for those who have finished diving for the day